An empty nester day in your kid’s city

Detroit, Michigan version

Three weeks before our daughter moved to Texas, our son started his college journey in Michigan. Although he’s much closer than the 2-day cross-country journey to Texas, and much closer than the 8-hour car drive to her college, the 4-hour drive to Detroit is still an entire state away taking us from the border of Ohio and Kentucky to the border of Ohio and Michigan. It also happens to be just a bridge away from Canada. We jokingly call our kids our NAFTA children because they’re both so close to their respective borders. This is also pretty indicative of their personalities--polar opposites.

When we came to Detroit for the first time to see our son’s college, we fell in love with the city. They have done so much to revitalize it. This is not the Detroit of the late 20^th century. It’s a new Detroit of the 21^st century with a bustling downtown, sports galore (MLB, NFL and NHL), fancy restaurants and bars sprinkled all over, art installations and amazing architecture.

Come take a drive with us through Motor City--a town where all roads lead to a history rich in cars and Motown music. You can’t turn a corner without seeing the Ford name or a reference to a legendary Motown musician.

As you arrive in downtown Detroit, if you are driving, pay careful attention to your GPS and to all the signs. If you don’t, you’ll end up in Canada, and as the signs say, there is no turning back. And if you don’t have your passport on you, we’re not exactly sure how long it will take you to get back into the U.S. We’ve watched too many episodes of “Border Patrol,” so we’re not willing to find out.  

Detroit in a day

Detroit is a big city with a ton to offer, so you’ll need several days to do it right, but we can suggest several one-day itineraries to string it all together. When we visit our son, due to the nature of his college program, he is sometimes in night classes or working in the design studio on weekends, so we take the opportunity to visit the city around his schedule and have come up with several different itineraries. Don’t worry, he does come out for free food, and sometimes brings along his friends, too.  

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Itinerary 1:

· Eastern Market: Start your day by shopping for produce and fruit, fresh flower bouquets and a lot more at this central hub. Once you’ve filled your shopping bags, stop for lunch at one of the many locales surrounding the market. There are too many to name but we picked Farmer Franks. The food was legit. There are also many breweries and a distillery in the area.

· GM Building: Park in one of the garages next to it and then go towards the riverfront to enter the building. Before you go in, check out the nice plaza where you can see right across into Windsor, Canada. Inside, walk into the bottom floor atrium and see the conveyor belt of vintage GM cars. It’s a real treat!

· Guardian Building: Stop inside to check it out. I won’t spoil the surprise, but know you won’t want to miss it. The building looks unassuming from the outside, but is absolutely breathtaking from the inside. Cincinnatians and Rookwood Pottery enthusiasts will be even more impressed. If you can land a tour, it would be even better.

· Central Station: This large building used to be a key train station first built in 1910 in the Beaux Arts style. It fell in disrepair when rail travel was no longer desirable, but was finally renovated in 2024 and reopened to the public. There is a café in there, shops and seasonal activities.

· Campus Martius: Find somewhere to park and walk to this beautiful plaza. In the winter, you can get a drink in the two-story glass building that overlooks the ice rink and then you can rent skates. It’s reminiscent of New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza. In the summer, grab a drink at Parc outdoors, or go in inside to escape the heat.

· The Belt: Between Broadway and Liberty, walk this area to see all the fantastic murals. It’s called the Belt because it’s located in the former garment district. 

· Buddy’s Pizza: No trip to Detroit is complete without eating a Detroit pizza, and Buddy’s is one of the best. Try the one downtown on Broadway near Tiger Stadium. “What’s Detroit pizza?” you ask. It’s not a Chicago or New York pizza at all. It’s a thick rectangular pizza with a crispy crust characterized by Wisconsin brick cheese spread all the way to the sides of the pan. The tomato sauce is layered on top of the cheese in a striped fashion. We say “Delish.”

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Itinerary 2:

· Henry Ford Museum: This is one of the best museums we have ever visited--and we have visited a ton of museums across the world. The price of admission was worth it just to sit in the same seat as Rosa Parks in THE bus and to see the limo that carried JFK when he was assassinated. The museum is huge so allow yourself approximately 3 hours to see this. Eat lunch at the 1946 Lamy’s Diner inside the museum and treat yourself to a piece of old fashioned pie or a float OR go to Greenfield Village and eat in Eagle Tavern for meals set in 1850.

· Greenfield Village: After lunch, walk over to the village next to Ford Museum and be prepared for one of the most amazing experiences ever. You’ll need the rest of the day to enjoy this. Henry Ford purchased historical homes and moved them to this village to preserve them all in one place. You can take a drive in a model T around the village, but most importantly, stop into every house and establishment the village offers. You’ll see Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park studio, Noah Webster’s house (plus the first edition of the dictionary), the Wright brother’s home and a plethora of other historic buildings and artifacts. We felt like our minds were being blown every time we turned a corner.

· Ford’s Garage (Dearborn, MI): Round out the Ford day at Ford’s garage for some of the best burgers around.

We also hear that Halloween and Holiday at Greenfield Village is something to experience at least once, so we have that on our list to do before our son graduates next year. Can’t wait!

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Michael Jackson's famous hat and glove are at the Motown Museum. He HE!!

Itinerary 3

· Motown Museum: To say we were excited about this museum was an understatement. The tour was beyond our wildest dreams. We could not have imagined a better experience or have had a better tour guide. This museum is a must-do on your stop to Detroit. Book tickets ahead of time, but they only let you book within the month you want to come. No spoiler alerts here, just be ready to see and hear some of the coolest sh*t ever.

· Green Dot Stables: There is something about sliders and Detroit which we haven’t yet figured out, but this is the place to get them. A little bit off the beaten path, but worth it. They have just about every kind you can imagine, from corned beef to Korean, from gyro to mystery meat--and everything in between. 22 sliders to tickle your taste buds.

· The Ford Piquette Plant: Detroit is full of surprises and this plant-turned-museum is no exception. We can’t even put into words how amazing this museum was. The birthplace of the Ford Model T, it's where the first 12,000 were assembled and shipped out by train starting in 1909. Other models assembled there were B, C, F, K, N, R, S and T. It was sold to Studebaker in 1911 and they used it until 1933. Eventually, it was sold to the Model-T Automotive Heritage Complex in 2000 and they restored and converted it into a museum. Many of the tour guides are retired Ford employees and their passion oozes through their veins. High recommend!

· The Hiedelberg Project: Also off the beaten path, this art installation is located in the McDougall Hunt neighborhood. It’s free and open to the public 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. every day. This project was initiated by Tyree Guyton in 1986 inspiring people to appreciate and use artistic expression to transform vacant houses and lots. Not like anything we’ve ever seen before but worth a quick stop to check it out.

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Itinerary 4

You can Uber to the Detroit Museum of Art and walk to all of these destinations, take the FREE Qline up/down Woodward or park your car and walk to these places.

· Detroit Museum of Art: The DIA is one of Detroit’s art gems. The building itself is a Beaux-Arts masterpiece right on Woodward in the heart of Midtown. It features the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry fresco in the main court as well as art from many other well known artists such as Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Bruegel and van Eyck.

· Shields Pizza: Because you can’t get enough Detroit pizza, try Shields across the street. It claims to be better than Buddy’s PizzA. It’s good alright. The proportions of the ingredients are radically different, but still very delicious. We put this as a close second to Buddy’s.

· Detroit Historical Museum: You can find this museum across from both the DIA and Shield’s. We loved this museum as it helped us understand the reasons Detroit experienced struggles starting in the 60s and how they overcame those struggles most recently. There were some interesting pieces of history inside including parts of a car assembly plant, the old Tiger Stadium neon sign, historical vehicles and so much more.

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These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg to give you a taste of what Detroit is about. We didn't even mention Cass Corridor, Belle Isle, the Ambassador Bridge or underground art deco tunnel to Canada. Thanks to Clcm Traveller for giving us many of these ideas when we first moved our son here. Get in your car and get to Detroit. We know you will love the city much as we do.

Next up: For the married men reading our blog, don't miss Empty Nester Guys--How to Date Your Wife Again.